3 Part Blog Formula Used By Successful Online Entrepreneurs

One simple 3-part formula can help ensure success for your blog. The reason this formula works is because it allows you to get inside the minds of your audience. And if you can’t do that, no one will even know your blog exists because they’ll never find it and no one else will ever send them links to it. The reason I call it the 3-P formula is not because it’s 3 parts, but because each part begins with the letter P.

This formula is based on how people get to what they consider valuable content on the web. This only happens one of two ways:

They find it in a search – In order to be found in search, the words of your content has to match up with words people type into that search box on Google. And it has to do it better than everyone else who is trying to attract the same people you are.
They click on a link sent to them by someone else – Some kind of referring agent (their browser’s home page or friends in social media or by email are several examples) sends a link to a member of your audience. It doesn’t matter whether the link was created automatically or manually.

That’s it.

There is no other way for anyone to reach your blog.

In all the blather out there on the web about “how to get more traffic,” you will find that most folks focus on tactics and tools: use this software, this service. Post at certain times of day or during the week. Measure certain things.

All of which fails to address something deeper: the strategy that leads you to use certain tools and tactics.
The 3-P Formula: People, Problem, Product

I’ve been using this formula successfully with my own blog consulting clients for years, now. Often it’s the one thing that really gets everything to “click” inside the client’s mind and brings them the understanding they never had before. Let’s go over each part of the formula so you too can use it.
The First P: People

The first P in the formula is people. What kind of people are we talking about here? The people you’re trying to reach with your content:

Who are they?
Where do they live?
How educated are they?
How old are they?
What is their relationship status?
Where/how do they work?
How do they learn?
How much do they earn?
How do they think?
What social media networks do they use?
How technologically savvy are they?
What devices and technologies do they use?

Some of this what you might call good ol’ demographics. Some of it is what you would call “technographics.” Knowing this stuff matter. For example, if your ideal customer is older and using a desktop he chose with the help of his son and he is married and approaching retirement, you’ll design your site a certain way in Headway and create content in a specific way that’s best for him.

But if your ideal customer is a middle-aged stay-at/work from home mother with an iPad, iPhone and laptop, then you’d do things differently.

You can’t talk meaningfully to anyone unless you know exactly who you’re talking to. You can’t talk to everyone: your message will not get even get through. What can you say to everyone that would matter to them? What are the things which everyone searches for on Google or shares with friends?

Let’s move on to the second P.
The Second P: Problem

Problem is the problem a person has which causes them to either deliberately search for something or be interested in something when it’s sent their way by a well-meaning friend. This problem could be something acute, such as a funny bump he just found on his skin, or it could be diffuse, such as being pushed around by a bank’s bureaucratic labyrinth time and time again.

People and problem are so interconnected it’s hard to separate them. Indeed, “problem” here is really the second part of the sentence “People who have X problem.”

This is where the topic of your blog really connects with folks… or doesn’t. If you’re blogging about tax help, for example, the location of your customer matters a great deal, as taxes are different all over the world. You’ll write or create content differently for older or younger people. Different things will appeal to high-net-worth clients as compared to middle class recently unemployed people.

In fact, let’s take the same problem and look at it as faced by two different people: recovering from and managing unemployment. Sure, there are some tips and services that would be important to anyone who suddenly finds himself unemployed.